February 9, 2010

It is a sad state we are in now: The economic state and the state of Arizona. As the budget problems continue, the fear of more losses for those who can least afford it grow. There are new proposals every day on what cuts to make. However, the population most affected by those cuts remains the same. Those who live at or below poverty level are in the most fear of losing even more. And, in the long run, the most danger. The cuts to services for the poor may save some money in the short run but will affect all of us very deeply in the long run. The more people with no insurance for medical or mental health problems, the more people will end up in emergency rooms for help, unemployed, and homeless. This will cause much more of a deficit then we are seeing at present.

Is it not the goal to have every person who is capable, working? Yet, new suggested cuts would eliminate funding for the state’s GED programs. Not only will this keep more people from getting a job, it will cost the state more in educating people in the traditional school system and end federal matching dollars.It seems people need someone to blame for the economic problems. It seems easy, for some, to blame the poor for everyone’s problems. “If they would just go to work…if they would try harder…if they would quit breeding…” “You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply,” says South Carolina’s Lt. Governor. Unbelievably cold-hearted. I don’t know what the answer is, but to cut money to basic education, medical care, and food is not the correct one. To remove hope leaves people with nothing. The poor already have too little.

Like this:

What an unbelievable comment the Lt. Gov. of SC made. Talk about white privilege, and oppression. What was he thinking when he uttered such words? I’m sure he tried to go back and fix what he said too, hopefully SC was with not forgiving. I guess what we could say back to him is “ignorance breeds ignorance; I hope you don’t have any offspring!”

This link is from the census bureau! regarding the state of South Carolina. Maybe he ought to look at it before work tomorrow. Also, if he does not like his state’s current welfare program does he not realize he’s in the business of getting such things changed! Ugh, I swear, the obvious ways in which people do not think before they speak astound me.

While survival in hard times is multi-faceted, one of the keys is encouraging business creation and job creation. One need for those who want to start a business is the elimination of “red tape.” Since there are those with more time on their hands, perhaps cities and counties could use volunteers to guide people through the process of getting their businesses started.

Another important aspect for business, whether new or established, is certainty. Governmental leadership needs to take a stand and stick with it so that those impacted will know what that impact is going to be and make the needed transitions to deal with it. Health care is a perfect example: At present, health providers don’t know what is going to happen to their budgets that come from Medicaid (AHCCCS), so they can’t plan their futures.

Lack of certainty also hurts those who are on the “cusp,” those who are barely making it. And, of course, all of us need to bring stability to our own lives. Now is not the time for excess: Calling “necessities” what an earlier generation would have called “luxuries.”

It just strikes me as very wrong to eliminate education under almost any circumstances. The state’s 4.6 million brings in 11 million in federal funds, which will be lost if the GED program is eliminated. Is there a plan to reinstate the program once the budget is balanced (unlikely)? Or will thousands of Arizonans not get their GEDs, and therefore not be as competitive for jobs? Education is the way to make life better and we should try to make those opportunities available to as many people as we can. In the long run a better educated person will be able to give back more, pay more taxes, etc so it’s smart economics.

I work for a non-profit social service agency and have seen some really negative impact due to the budget problems. The legislature in Arizona do not appear to be considering the ripple effect that their cuts in services are having, or they just don’t care. Their answer to this is to cut taxes, particularly at the corporate level; however, this has a negative impact as well. If you consider that this is supposed to attract companies to set up shop in Arizona, but you cut the education budget, who is going to want to hire people who are under educated?

Here is the first thing I noticed that would be a source of income for the state: you only have to get your drivers license renewed every 25 years in this state! Coming from Ohio where we have to have our licenses renewed every 5 years, this seems very weird to me. In order to get your license renewed in Ohio, you have to pass an eye exam (the typical wall chart type) and not have any serious physical impairment that would prevent you from driving. This seems more prudent to me than assuming that in 25 years either nothing is going to change that would cause a problem with someones driving ability, or taking/restricting their license after some disastrous accident. Additionally, it would be a fairly significant source of income for the state. I know it won’t fix everything, but we need to come up with some more creative ways to fund this state than what has been tried so far.